


Lanyards and Gay Panic

by laughingstock (Laughingstock_16)



Series: The S in "Malira" Stands For "Straight" [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 2019, 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Kira Yukimura, Chris Hemsworth (mentioned) - Freeform, Clubbing, Dancing, Drabble, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Panic, Girls Kissing, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Malia Tate, Minor Isaac Lahey/Scott McCall, Minor Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Minor Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Non-Supernatural Beacon Hills, Past Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura, Rainbows, So is Kira, Softball, Softball player Malia, and what do you know, but it turned out scott was hella gay, lanyards, sinema, so much gay panic, thor ragnarok - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26000761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laughingstock_16/pseuds/laughingstock
Summary: Kira thought she was straight. Until Malia entered the picture. Tall, confident Malia with the rainbow lanyard that hung from her back pocket. And thanks to her, Kira is now questioning her entire identity.Or: 5 times Kira thought she was straight and the 1 time she knew she wasn’t.
Relationships: Malia Tate/Kira Yukimura
Series: The S in "Malira" Stands For "Straight" [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971934
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	Lanyards and Gay Panic

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by that dancing scene from 4x1 (You know what I'm talking about.) Then it turned into a full-fledged drabble? Anyway, this is my first short-ish thing, feel free to give feedback!

_1\. The Lanyard_

The first time Kira encounters Malia Tate is on the first day of junior year. She’s at her locker when the new girl walks past in pastel purple converse and a rainbow lanyard that hangs from the back of her jeans pocket. Kira’s eyes are firmly glued onto her as she struts past.

“Kira,” Scott McCall, her past boyfriend but now very gay friend, tries to grab her attention. She doesn’t hear him. “Ki-ra,” Scott enunciates every syllable of her name. She clears her throat and uses her hair to cover her ears that are no doubt a blushing pink.

“Yeah, sorry, what?” She stutters.

Scott just smiles, leaning one shoulder against the row of lockers. Kira narrows her eyes.

“ _What_?”

“Nothing, I gotta go see Isaac, see you later.” He pats her on the shoulder and walks away, leaving Kira confused as ever.

_2\. Softball_

Of _course_ Malia is on the softball team. Her hair is tied back in a messy braid and she’s playing shortstop. Kira’s on the top of the bleachers, trying to look discreet with her history book splayed in front of her. But to be honest, she isn’t studying. Malia’s maroon softball pants are _great_ for her ass. 

Not that Kira’s looking, of course. Just an observation. As expected, the rainbow lanyard is in its rightful place in Malia’s back pocket. The tall girl calls something out, and the play begins. The bright yellow ball cracks against a bat and screams its way towards Malia. The shortstop narrows her eyes and swiftly catches it in her glove before whipping it at first base.

“Out!” The coach calls. “Great play, Tate.”

Malia beams as she pumps her fist in the air. Her gaze flickers over at the bleachers and she recognizes Kira so she gives her a peace sign. The raven-haired girl turns red, grabs her stuff, and dashes away, leaving a very confused Malia.

_3\. Sinema_

It’s Scott’s fault that Kira’s at the Sinema. Well, technically, it was his “idea” for everyone to go to the club, but the girl doesn’t appreciate it. So, she sits in the corner, stirring her coke with a straw, her chin resting in her hand.

She watches as Scott and Isaac do some weird dance, bodies pressed against each other and laughing. Lydia and Stiles are talking aggressively with their hands flying around, but it’s okay because their spats are usually stupid and are resolved within a few minutes. Theo and Liam are practically glued together, foreheads touching. Other things are definitely touching for sure, so the girl quickly averts her eyes in embarrassment.

Kira glances at a familiar brunette, who’s swaying to the music by herself, a drink in her hand and a lanyard in her pocket. Malia. She turns around and catches Kira’s eye, before grinning and making her way over to her table. Kira wants to run and hide in a bathroom stall but she’s too scared to do anything other than gape at the taller girl like an idiot.

“Hey! Kira, right?” Malia asks loudly as she pulls up a chair and sets her drink down. Kira blinks and nods. “Are you here by yourself?”

She shakes her head.

“I’m with my friends,” She waves vaguely around her. “How about you?”

“Well, I came alone, but I guess I’m not exactly by myself anymore.” The corners of her lips pull upwards. “Hey, do you wanna dance?” Malia asks suddenly.

“What?” Kira’s face goes slack for a second before she recovers. “Oh, I don’t exactly do that. I just came here for uh… emotional support?” The says, but it comes out sounding like a question. Malia rolls her eyes.

“C’mon, relax a little!” She stands up abruptly, chair squeaking, and grabs Kira’s hand, pulling her out of the booth.

“But--” The shorter girl protests.

“Dance with me, dumbass!”

Malia moves around smoothly, dancing along to the beat of the remixed pop song. Her lanyard whips around, hitting the raven-haired girl on the leg a few times. Kira does an uncomfortable head-nodding type of dance, if she can call it a dance at all. The taller girl gives her a weird look.

“Here,” Malia yells over the pounding music. She grabs Kira’s waist and doesn’t seem to notice her sharp inhale. She pulls Kira close, making the girl wrap her arms around her neck. Kira finally seems comfortable, and she starts to smile. Malia throws her head back as she brushes against the shorter girl, making her freeze momentarily. _Fuck it_. She shakes the weird feeling off and purposefully gets closer to Malia, trying to do a PG-13 version of what Theo and Liam were doing earlier. Malia seems pleased.

They dance the night away, not caring about what anyone else thinks. After all, it’s high school and it’s not like Kira’s actually attracted to girls. She’s just… experimenting.

_4\. The Haircut_

The next time Kira sees Malia, she has new hair. Gone are the long, flowy, honey-colored locks. In its place is a practical, slightly curled cut that hangs just below her (beautiful, amazing) jawline. Kira has to admit, it looks good. Really good. Then again, anything Malia does is attractive, so--

She shakes her head, scattering her dangerous thoughts.

“Hi!” She manages to say to Malia.

“Hey, yourself!” Malia shoots back, a grin on her face. Dammit, why does she have to be so _confident_? Kira either wants to be her or kiss her… No! Bad thoughts!

“I like your hair. It looks good. Not that it wasn’t pretty before, because you’re like, really pretty, and uh…” She slaps her hand over her mouth, cursing herself out with words her mother would _definitely_ not approve of. Malia just smiles, making her look even cuter, if that was possible.

“Thanks! It was getting too long, and I was shedding like crazy, so I chopped it all off.”

“So…” Kira drags out the word, then laughs nervously. Malia urges her to go on with a little nod.

“Um… do you wanna hang out?” She spits out, then her eyes expand almost comically. She can’t _believe_ she just asked Malia _fucking_ Tate to “hang out” with her. Before she can take it back, Malia says something that surprises her entirely.

“Sure, when are you free?”

“I--” Kira gapes at her. “Um, Friday’s good. Yeah. I’ll text you my address?”

“I don’t think I have your number.” 

“Oh, yeah. Of course. Lemme just…” She digs in her jacket pocket to pull out her phone, unlocks it, then practically shoves it at Malia. A few uncomfortable seconds pass by, with only the faint beeps from Kira’s phone to accompany the silence.

“Here,” Malia passes it back. She has pretty hands. Kira tells her brain to shut up and grabs the phone, jamming it in her pocket again. She somehow manages to say bye without embarrassing herself and spends the whole time driving home contemplating whether or not she should move to the Netherlands to escape from Malia.

(She decides against it only because she heard that there are no Sour Patch Kids in Europe.)

_5\. The Incident_

When Friday _finally_ rolls around, Kira couldn’t be more excited. _It’s not a date. Just a hangout. Wait, why would you even want it to be a date? Gross, Kira._ She tells herself as she attempts to tidy her room up one last time. 

The doorbell dings pleasantly, and Kira has a three-second freak-out before reminding herself to breathe and get the door. She brushes her palms on her jeans and wonders why her heart is beating so _damn_ fast. It’s just a da-- a hangout. It’s a hangout.

“Kira? You there?” A familiar muffled voice says from the other side of the door.

“Uh, yep!” She squeaks out.

“... Are you gonna let me in?”

Kira’s eyes widen and she curses softly under her breath before jerking the door open with a little too much force.

“Hey, sorry.” She cringes. Malia shrugs, readjusting her backpack on her shoulder. For once, the rainbow lanyard is in her hand instead of her back pocket.

“It’s okay. Happens to me all the time.”

Kira’s one hundred and ten percent sure that this does _not_ happen to Malia all the time. 

“Um, want to go up into my room?”

* * *

They sit on Kira’s bed, a respectable distance between them while a Marvel movie plays in front of them. To be honest, Kira’s not paying attention to the movie at all. Sure, she’s seen _Thor: Ragnarok_ loads of times. After all, it _is_ her favorite movie. 

But Malia’s hand is really close to her leg. And suddenly, she has no idea what Chris Hemsworth is saying because there’s a hand. Next to her leg. Kira tries not to panic, then internally yells at herself for being nervous at all. _What’s wrong with you? She’s just your friend._

Half an hour in, Malia and Kira somehow find themselves barely touching. Kira’s now cross-legged, and her knee touches Malia’s outstretched legs. Neither of them move. And Kira really wants to cuddle with her for some odd reason, so she leans her head on Malia’s shoulder, and they squish together, Malia’s hand wrapping around her shoulder. And finally, the nervous girl relaxes and enjoys herself.

“So, this is your favorite movie?” Malia asks softly, glancing down at Kira. 

“Yeah, I’m a diehard Marvel fan, but this one is probably the best one.” She lets out a breathy laugh, then adjusts her head so she’s staring into Malia’s half-lidded eyes. She watches as Malia’s eyes flick down at her lips, and then Kira’s leaning forward, her heart beating furiously in her ears. Then, she catches herself, and scrambles off the bed, backing as far away from Malia as she can. 

“I-- I’m not-- I can’t--” She mutters. The taller girl sits there with a hurt expression on her face, then quickly stands up as well.

“Um, I should go.” Malia swallows, then grabs her backpack and lanyard. She exits the room swiftly, and all Kira can do is stare at her door, frozen in shock.

_+1. The Aftermath_

Kira doesn’t talk to Malia for two whole weeks after _the incident_ . Scott says she should stop being a wimp about it, and just “fuck her already because the sexual tension is making me really freaking awkward”. His words, not hers. But, she can’t help but panic every time she sees the tall girl. _I’m straight. I don’t like girls. Right?_ She tries to convince herself, but every night as she falls asleep, she dreams of Malia. One hand on her cheek and the other one on her hip, kissing her softly and deeply.

That, of course, terrifies the shit out of her, so she cuts off anything that reminds her of the brunette. That means no softball games, no Sinema, no tall, pretty, light-brown-haired girls, and absolutely, under no circumstances, should she ever look at a rainbow lanyard again.

Kira nods to herself as she closes her locker door and shoulders her backpack. It’s a good plan. Sure, it’s gonna hurt like hell, but it’s still a good plan. Besides, she still has her friends--

“Kira!”

Oh no.

“Kira!” She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named repeats.

She could run, but Malia’s a lot faster than her. Curse her naturally athletic body! As Kira has an internal debate with herself, Malia catches up to her.

“Listen, I don’t exactly know what came over me, but I am _really_ sorry for um, that thing that I did. I’ve been trying to apologize to you for two weeks now, but every time I see you, you kind of just run off.” She explains. Kira nods stiffly, gripping her backpack straps. It feels like there’s a lump in her throat that she can’t swallow.

“It’s fine,” She says in a strained voice, then turns around. She wants to say more, wants to tell her that there’s nothing to apologize for because she _liked_ it, wants to kick herself for being so fucking _confused_ , but her mouth seems to be glued shut. Malia grabs her shoulder, spinning her around and forcing her to meet her eyes. The short-haired girl flinches and takes her hand off, letting it hang awkwardly at her side.

“No, it’s not. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable, and honestly, my gaydar can be so off sometimes, so--”

Kira makes a split-second decision and leans forward, smashing her lips on Malia’s, making the taller girl let out a surprised noise. Kira’s eyes flutter closed and she cups Malia’s face, pulling her closer. She tilts her head to the side, deepening the kiss, and when she’s about to pass out from lack of oxygen, she pulls back to lean their foreheads together.

“That… that was nice,” Malia whispers breathlessly, tucking Kira’s hair behind her ear. She brushes her cheek with her thumb, a big smile on her face. The raven-haired girl lets out a soft chuckle.

“I guess you’re gaydar wasn’t that off.”

“I guess not.”

They slot their lips together in another chaste kiss, enjoying the moment in the empty hallway. Yeah. She’s _definitely_ not straight.

And of course, the next day, when they happily return to the lunch table with their hands linked together, a mix of sounds including a strangled choking noise from Stiles and a whoop from Scott erupts from their friends as multiple people exchange various amounts of money.


End file.
